Pencil point cleaning device



Feb. 2, 1960 A. FLUSTER 2,923,020

PENCIL POINT CLEANING DEVICE Filed Oct. 10, 1957 INVENT OR United 1 v 2,923,020 PENCIL POINT CLEANING DEVICE Alfred Fluster, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application October 10, 1957, Serial No. 689,335 2 Claims. (Cl. 210

This invention relates to a device for cleaning the surfaces of the body and tip of a graphite pencil after the pencil point has been brought to the proper degree of sharpness or acuteness by means of a sandpaper pad, file pointer, or any other type of pencil pointer in common use by draftsmen, artists, engineers, accountants, students, and other requiring a clean, sharp pencil point.

The principal purpose of this invention is to provide a practical, efficient and economical cleaning device'that will effectively and easily remove the loose particles of graphite that have a tendency to adhere to the surface of the pencil point after being pointed up on one of the above mentioned pointers. If these loose particles are not cleaned 01f, they will soil the drawing, drawing equipment, papers, and working surfaces. The common practice at present is to remove the loose graphite after the pointing procedure by means of wiping the point on a piece of cloth or piece of paper towelling, or'

by blowing the particles off. These operations are not efficient or effective in adequate removal of the particles.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top view of the improved pencil point cleaner;

Fig. 2 is a transverse side section taken along the line of 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an auxiliary view showing the improved pencil point cleaner in use; and

Fig. 4 is a blow-up of cross-section of the mesh bag and filler with pencil point inserted.

Referring to the drawing more specifically 13 indicates a receptacle having a continuous upstanding cylindrical side wall and a flat bottom wall, and having an open upper end conforming to the inner periphery of its side wall and extending on a horizontal plane. The receptacle is made of metal, cardboard, plastic of any other suitable material such that its side wall is sufficiently rigid to stand upright. Arranged within the receptacle 13 is a bag 11 made of mesh weave cloth and containing a filler 12 which is confined in the bag by closing the open end 14 of the bag by sewing or other permanent means of fastening, to prevent the filler 12 from escaping.

The bag 11 is resilient enough to permit a pencil to be inserted so that the point will come into contact with the filler 12, without causing damage to the cloth. Some of the fabrics which can be used are net, nylon, fiberglass, boucles, or stocking net. This is not to be construed that these are the only materials which can be used, but rather as a guide to the type of material to be used. The chief purpose of the material is to contain the filler 12 and to permit the pencil point to be inserted and withdrawn without damage to the cloth.

The filler 12 may be fine sawdust, granulated soap, finely ground foam rubber, or a mixture of any two or all three of these ingredients, or other ingredients of a similar nature to which the loose graphite will have a tendency to cling. In order to have such tendency and also permit ready penetration thereof of a graphite pencil --Patented Feb. 2, 1960 point without damaging the latter, it is essential that the filler 12 comprise fine particles of a substance such as above stated which will produce a compact yieldable and resilient mass of granules easily displaced by a pencil point yet sufiiciently dense to effect a wiping action on the pencil point such as to remove loose particles of graphite therefrom and retain such particles in the mass. The filler 12 being granular and the bag 11 being formed of a mesh weave cloth the assemblage is pliable and readily deformable so that the filled bag, which is slightly less in volume than the volumetric capacity of the receptacle 13 may be readily inserted in the open end of the receptacle and positioned within the receptacle. On slight pressure then being applied to the upper portion of the bag the lower portion thereof will be caused to seat on the bottom wall of the receptacle and the side portion thereof will be caused to conform to the cylindrical side wall of the receptacle. When so disposed, as shown in Fig. 2, the upper surface of the bag will be presented toward the open upper end of the receptacle and will extend generally on a plane slightly below the upper .margin of the receptacle side wall.

To operate this improved pencil point cleaner, point up the pencil in any of the usual ways, then simply insert the pencil point two or three times through the cloth bag so that the pencil point comes in contact with the filler and the loose particles of graphite will be rubbed off and adhere to the filler, thereby leaving a clean, sharp point for the operator to work with. Portions of the graphite will cling to the exposed upper surface of the bag 12 which after a number of operations will result in such surface becoming fouled with graphite. By counter-sinking the upper surface of the bag relative to the rim of the receptacle it is shielded by the upper portion of the receptacle against being brushed by the hand or other objects, which on contacting the fouled surface of the bag would thereby become smeared by loose graphite particles, this arrangement also insuring trapping of the removed graphite particles within the receptacle.

After considerable use, the bag can be removed from the receptacle and rotated to a new position and reinserted into the receptacle, thus exposing a new and fresh side of the bag 12 at the open end of the receptacle. This may be done numerous times before the cleamng qualities of the bag are exhausted. By the use of a filler 12 composed of line particles of either sawdust, soap, or rubber, or a mixture of any two or all three of these ingredients, or other ingredients of similar nature, which are characterized by being yieldable and non-abrasive, the filler 12 is rendered compact, yieldable, and resilient and easily penetrable by a pencil point, and will effect a wiping action on the pencil point without effecting a grinding or abrading action thereon such as to deform a sharpened pencil point.

I claim:

1. A pencil point cleaner comprising the combination of a closed resilient cloth bag, a pencil cleaning nonabrasive granular material confined in and filling said bag, said granular material constituting a compact yieldable and resilient mass readily penetratable by a pencil point and which will effect a wiping action on a pencil point inserted therein, and a receptacle having side and bottom walls, and an open upper end; said bag when filled being less in volume than the volumetric capacity of said receptacle and being disposed in said receptacle with portions thereof contacting the walls of the receptacle and with another portion thereof presented and exposed to the open top of said receptacle in countersunk relation thereto, and said bag being removable and being replaceable in said receptacle in the bag to the open top of said receptacle.

2. A pencil point cleaner comprising a firm receptacle open at the top and having a side Wall and a bottom wall; aclosed mesh weave cloth bag, a compact yieldable and resilient mass of granular material contained in and filling said bag, said material being non-abrasive of a character which will have a wiping action on a pencil point inserted therein and to which powdered graphite will adhere, said cloth bag being sufficiently resilient that 10 a pencil point may be passed therethrough and brought into contact with the granular material therein without damaging the cloth of the bag, said bag when filled being less in volume than the volumetric capacity of said receptacle and being disposed in said receptacle with portions thereof contacting the side and bottom walls of the receptacle and substantially conforming thereto and with another portion thereof presented and exposed to the open top of said receptacle in countersunk relation thereto, and said bag being removable from said receptacle and being replaceable therein in various positions to present difierent portions of --the bag to the open top of said receptacle from time to time.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 96,931 Little Nov. 16, 1869 406,340 Day July 2, 1889 433,878 Smith Aug. 5, 1890 720,765 Webster Feb. 17, 1903 1,229,051 Dowling June 5, 1917 2,152,697 Kingman Apr. 4, 1939 2,238,340 Poe 2 Apr. 15, 1941 2,288,407 Lada June 30, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 181,672 Canada Jan. 22, 1918 

